Salt Lake City – Jeffrey R. Holland, a high-ranking official in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was next in line To become the president of the faith has died. He was 85 years old.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced on its website that Holland died Saturday morning of complications related to kidney disease.
Holland, who died in Salt Lake City, led a governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which helps set church policy while overseeing numerous business interests in what is widely known as the Mormon Church.
He was the next longest-tenured member of the Quorum of the Twelve, after the President Dallin H. OaksHe was made next in line to lead the church under a long-established succession plan.
Henry B. Eyring, who is 92 and one of Oakes’ two top advisers, is now in line for the presidency.
The church said Holland was hospitalized for treatment related to ongoing health complications over the Christmas holidays. Trust experts pointed to his declining health in October when Oaks chose not to select Holland as a counselor. He attended several church events that month in a wheelchair.
His death has left a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve that Oakes will fill in the coming months, possibly by calling a new apostle from the lower leadership quorum. The apostles are all men according to the all-male priesthood of the Church.
Holland grew up in St. George, Utah, and worked in education administration for several years before feeling the call to join church leadership. He served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University, the faith’s leading school based in Utah, from 1980 to 1989 and was commissioner of the church’s global education system.
Under his leadership, Provo University worked to improve interfaith relations and established a satellite campus in Jerusalem. The Anti-Defamation League later honored Holland with the Torch of Liberty Award for helping to promote better understanding between the Christian and Jewish communities.
Hollande is widely remembered for a 2021 speech in which he called on church members to take up metaphorical weapons in defense of the faith’s teachings against gay marriage. The conversation, known colloquially as the “Musket Fire Speech”, became required reading for BYU freshmen in 2024, raising concerns among LGBTQ+ students and advocates.
Holland was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Terry Holland. He is survived by his three children, 13 grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.
